• City of hope

    Detroit’s real renaissance is now happening in many small places, not the few big ones. Walk around Brush Park, Lower Woodward, and Midtown, and you’ll find all sorts of cool stuff popping up.
    Detroit has lost all that it’s going to lose. The city has clearly turned the corner. If you didn’t get those ruin porn shots you wanted, it’s far too late now; the ruined mansions in Brush Park have either been demolished if they were too far gone, or are now being renovated. New construction...Read more

  • Main Street Center as a model for sprawl retrofit

    Suburban areas in need of transformation often lack an oversight organization to join, providing a network of support.
    Note: This document is one of a series of tools created for Build a Better Burb, the Hub for Great Suburban Design. The Build a Better Burb website has been recently updated by CNU. The Problem Suburban areas in need of transformation often lack an oversight organization to join, providing a...Read more

  • Preservation and urbanism go hand in hand

    Historic buildings create the kind of character and vitality that makes older communities perform well economically, socially, and environmentally—and that is the central thesis of a new book.
    Note: This article is part of a collaboration between Island Press and Public Square on a series of articles based on recently published books on subjects related to urbanism. A definitive book on the enormous impact of historic preservation on cities and towns in the last half century came out...Read more

  • What is a livable community, anyway?

    A walkable community is the most common term to describe the alternative to drive-only suburbia. Yet walking is so basic to human life that we often take it for granted. Perhaps a more inspiring term is livability.
    A walkable community is the most common term to describe the alternative to drive-only suburbia. Yet walking is so basic to human life that we often take it for granted. Perhaps a more inspiring term is livability. Former US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood defined livability as "a community...Read more